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Trader Joe's and Jacksonville Beach have a date: Oct. 3

Much-anticipated opening of grocery store

Trader Joe’s has set the opening date for its new store in Jacksonville Beach. The grocery store will open Oct. 3 in the South Beach Regional Shopping Center, just north of Butler Boulevard on Third Street.

The chain announced the store last year, its first in the area.

The store will be 12,500 square feet, a little larger than many of its stores but about one-fourth the size of a typical Publix or Winn-Dixie. But the chain has developed a cult-like following among customers for its colorful, quirky atmosphere and its house brands.

In May, a survey by Market Force Information ranked it the No. 1 grocery chain in consumer satisfaction. (Publix was No. 2, followed by Trader Joe’s parent, Aldi, and Costco.)

Consumer Reports’ annual ranking had Wegmans, a regional Northeastern chain, at the top, followed by Trader Joe’s, Publix and Costco.

For now, the closest Trader Joe’s to Jacksonville is in Gainesville.

Aldi, the Germany-based owner of Trader Joe’s, will open its first Aldi store in Northeast Florida in the Seabridge Square shopping center in St. Augustine later this year.